The value of the 10,000 bitcoin used to pay for two pizzas in 2010 has grown to about $773 million, or about 1.18 trillion won, drawing renewed attention as a symbolic example of bitcoin’s long-term rise.

On May 22, CoinPost reported that crypto analyst Darkpost released data summarising changes in bitcoin’s purchasing power for physical goods to mark Bitcoin Pizza Day.

Bitcoin Pizza Day dates back to a May 22, 2010 transaction in which U.S. developer Laszlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas for 10,000 bitcoin. It is widely known as the first case of paying for a real product with bitcoin and has become a symbolic event in cryptocurrency history. The transaction was worth about $41 at the time, and bitcoin traded at about $0.004 per coin.

This deal, which was close to an experimental payment at the time, is still discussed because of the scale of bitcoin’s value change. By today’s 기준, the same 10,000 bitcoin is valued at about $773 million. An assessment has emerged that it symbolically shows bitcoin growing from a digital asset in an early internet-experiment phase into a global investment asset, beyond a simple price increase.

Darkpost also presented changes in bitcoin’s real purchasing power. The analysis showed that the point when 1 bitcoin could buy a $20 pizza was Jan. 31, 2013. That means it took about 2.5 years after the first pizza transaction for the value of a single bitcoin to surpass the price of one pizza.

The situation is now completely different. Using the same 기준, 1 bitcoin’s purchasing power has expanded to a level where it can buy about 3,865 pizzas. That means bitcoin’s long-term rise is dramatic even when measured against real-world consumption.

Purchasing power grew further when bitcoin prices hit record highs. Darkpost explained that at the peak price recorded in October last year, 1 bitcoin could buy about 6,236 pizzas. Compared with the early transaction, that is effectively an unimaginable change in value.

The market views Bitcoin Pizza Day as more than a simple anniversary. That is because early cryptocurrency users’ real payment experiments later served as a starting point for the expansion of the bitcoin ecosystem and growth of the digital-asset market. That is also why May 22 is repeatedly recalled in the industry every year.

Darkpost assessed the current situation by saying, "Now spending 1 bitcoin on one pizza is irrational." He added that "there are also cases where a banana traded for more than $6 million," and said valuation standards could keep changing if scarcity and symbolism combine in the market. He also mentioned that market standards for valuing assets continue to broaden as cases of sharp price rises in recent conceptual art and scarce real-world items continue.

Ultimately, Bitcoin Pizza Day is no longer a simple anecdote from the past, but a symbolic example of how quickly digital assets have moved into the centre of financial markets over the past 16 years. As the experimental transaction worth $41 at the time is now converted into a value of more than $700 million, it has remained a record that compresses both bitcoin’s history and market perception.